The Hellhound
by barla
Summary: "I keep so much pain, inside myself. I grasp my anger and loneliness and hold it in my chest. It has changed me into something, I never meant to be. It has transformed me, into a person I do not recognize; But I don't know how, to let it go." -S.J.B (This story begins at the start of the movie, Avengers: Age of Ultron. I do not own any of the Marvel characters, only my OC's)
1. Prologue

**Third POV**

If there was one thing that Cassius Keen knows how to do, is to run. No, he's not a coward. He would never leave his friends or family behind just for his well being. He would rather get shot a thousand times, just to give a starving human a granola bar.

He runs because it is the best for everybody. He runs because he can't dwell on the idea of causing more pain to the people close to him. He runs because he cares.

It all began with the day he was born. Cassius knew he was different than the other kids, the other human beings around him. His name didn't help him at all to fit with the people he wanted to get along with. As much as he loves his mother with all his heart and soul, he just can't grasp the idea why she pinned her fanatic love of Roman mythology on himself.

Nonetheless, Cassius couldn't ask for a better mother. He couldn't think of anyone raising him except his own mother. His mother was there for him when he catches the cold as a little kid, running her tired hands through his hair and feeding him chicken noodle soup. She would kiss all his scraped-knees or cuts that would cause him to cry his eyes out. She was there for him for every nightmare that made him wake himself awake by screaming his heart out, cradling him in her arms, and singing him a lullaby back to sleep.

His father, he was a strong man. Cassius idolized him, wanting to become the man his father grew up to be. His father would always tease him that he was a mama's boy, taking him out at the back of their farm in England and playing rugby. His father, is the reason why Cassius yearns to be such a caring person. Cassius was told that he looked just like his father. Same smile. Same curly, black hair. Same nose. Same ears and lips. He even has his dimples when he smiles. His eyes however, bright hazel eyes that always seemed to be changing colors between a light brown, green, blue, or even a golden color, Cassius received that from his mother.

These two wonderful people, were somehow cursed to bear a son, himself. He felt such a disappointment, knowing that his parents deserve better than dealing with his ' _disorder_ '.

It first showed up, on his first year in school. Cassius was ready to leave the farm work and actually learn. It all happened so quickly for Cassius, that it was just a blur for him. One second, he was eating his mother homemade chocolate chip cookies, and the next thing he knew, some of the older kids snatched the snack right out of his chubby little hands. Cassius cried for them to give it back, stomping his little feet, but they wouldn't listen. They just laughed and ate the snack right in front of him.

Cassius has never felt so much rage in his entire life. It was like something flipped inside of him. He could feel the anger boiling in his blood, his heart hammering in fury through his ribs. This searing hot heat started to appear on his chest, spreading all over his body until he could feel the sensation on the tip of his fingers and toes. His vision went red.

All that he could remember was people screaming out in fear, a roar passing by his ears before everything went black.

The next day, Cassius found himself in the hospital, with guards outside his hospital room. Apparently, his school caught on fire, burning the building until it was turned coal-black. Luckily, no one was severely injured, just a few minor burns. Unfortunately, Cassius was in the middle during the flames and all fingers point that it was his doing.

There wasn't enough evidence to prove him not guilty. His parents very well knew that Cassius didn't cause this on purpose but it didn't help the guilt that was eating him up. He could have severely injured someone and it would have been all his fault.

Ever since that incident, people would stay far away from him as possible. And the people who didn't, they would tease him and break him down, close to the breaking point. Cassius didn't know why he could create a flicker of flame with just the snap of his fingers or to watch out for his anger, so bad things won't happen. He didn't understand why this had to happen to him.

As much how supportive his parents were towards him, despite the lack of knowledge of what he was capable, he couldn't take it anymore. People kept breaking him, piece by piece. They wouldn't talk to him. They wouldn't allow him to interact with other people. They wouldn't allow him to be near anyone. Hell, he couldn't even talk or hold eye contact with them. They were afraid of him. And when people get afraid, they try their very best to get rid of that fear to feel safe and secure.

Everywhere that Cassius walks, he would bring fear and destruction with him. He was alone and it was driving him insane. Not having someone there for him, made him lonely. It was the worst torture Cassius had to face, being alone. All that pain, all of that suffering soon turn into anger. Angry at the people who labeled him as a freak. Angry that he had to have his parents suffer through lawyers, bills, and cruel people because of him. But most of all, he was angry at himself for being this. For bearing such a curse.

That incident at the school, wasn't the only time he caused a scene like that. He burned a couple of things, sometimes even buildings. His poor parents were financially suffering because of him, from all the bills of the damage he created. He was just grateful that he was labeled him as a pyromania and not Satan's child. But something happened to him, when he was just eight years old when he finally snapped.

School has just ended for him, which he was very grateful. A couple months from being away from his tormentors, sign him up. It was raining outside, dark clouds covering up the bright blue sky that Cassius loves to see. He usually rides his bike back home but because of the dreadful weather, Cassius decided to stay at the library for a bit, hoping for the rain to calm down.

The library was the only place where he feels accepted besides his home. When people decided to ignore you like the plague, you manage to grab a few hobbies here and there. Reading was his favorite pastime to do, connecting with the characters and as pathetic as it sounds, seeing them as their only friends in this world.

Taking off his rain jacket, Cassius rolled up the sleeves of his maroon fleece sweatshirt despite the freezing temperature. His body heat was way above average, the cold temperature doesn't affect him. He could be standing outside in a blizzard wearing nothing but shorts and he still wouldn't suppress a shiver from the cold weather.

Licking his thumb and index finger, he flip an old, wrinkle page of _The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn_. He has read this book about a hundred times. The silence around him was peaceful, a moment of forgetting everything out of his little bubble in his favorite spot. It was in the deepest part of the library that not many go to hangout, making it even more special to him. His little corner, just for him.

But even peace is just temporary. Cassius was so engrossed in the classic book in his hands, he didn't hear the set of footsteps making his way towards him until a shadow loomed over him. Glancing up, he felt his heart dropping to his stomach in dread. He stared at the faces of his biggest bully and his group of followers, Jason Martin. He was your cliche rich jock, with styled blonde hair and baby blue eyes. Even when he has everything, it wasn't enough for Jason. He lives in hurting people. He feeds off from other people's fear, making him feel powerful and unstoppable.

Cassius wasn't afraid of the jerk. No, he was afraid of what will happen when Jason pushes him to his limit.

They stared at each other, Jason sending Cassius a cruel smirk as his group of friends were chuckling behind him. Tensing, Cassius threw his book at Jason, quickly grabbing his things and made a run for it. He barely took five steps before Jason group of friends jumped him. One of them punched Cassius directly in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. He hunched over, dropping his things as he tried to get air back in his lungs. Next thing he knew, two of Jason's friends grabbed him by the arms, trapping him.

Cassius thrashed under their hold but these guys have been in club football (soccer) and rugby for as long as they could hold a ball while Cassius wheeze just taking the stairs. His glared heatedly as Jason walked in front of him, feeling a bit proud when he saw a bruise forming on his cheek. That was quickly wiped away when Jason reeled his fist back before landing it right on Cassius nose.

He gritted his teeth, hearing the familiar crack and throbbing pain. Feeling the skin break and the dark red blood trickling down his nostrils, he knew his nose was broken. Jason crew laughed at his pain, fueling his anger even more.

"That wasn't very nice," Jason mocked him.

"Yeah, so isn't that haircut," Cassius spat at him.

He clenched his jaw when he felt Jason's guys gripping his arms tightly, knowing it's gonna leave a nasty bruise. Cassius head snapped to the side, receiving a hard right hook to the cheek. Pennies filled his mouth, spitting a mouthful of blood on Jason. He looked furious at Cassius action, grabbing him by the front of of his fleece shirt. They glared heavily at each other before Jason chuckled, letting Cassius go and smoothing out his shirt.

"Friends, I believe that we need to teach this bloke a lesson about respecting his superiors."

Cassius face paled as he was dragged out of the library. School was over, no one nearby to help him. No matter how hard he fought back, he couldn't get out of their grips. They dragged him outside to the soccer field, the heavy rain soon turning into a soft drizzle. His feet kept slipping as he tried to get free, getting mud all over his shoes and the bottom of his pants.

His back slammed against the pole of a goal post when one of them threw him roughly against it. Cassius tried to make a run for it but Jason stuck out his shoe, tripping him. He fell straight on his elbows, hissing when they absorbed the impact. He was drenched from the rain and covered in mud. Scrambling back on his feet, he didn't have a chance as they shoved him against the goal post once again, this time the back of his head smacking on the metal. Groaning, he blinked his eyes to hopefully stop the spinning and clear out the black dots.

"Strip him," Jason ordered his followers, motioning his head towards Cassius.

His eyes widen, thrashing uncontrollably underneath their hold.

"No, no," Cassius freaked out. "Stay the bloody hell away from me!"

He screamed and fought back blindly as he felt hands grab him before feeling something tightly wrap around him. Blinking away the mud in his eyes, he panicked when he saw them tying him against the goal post with duct-tape. They all took a step back when they tied him securely, his arms locked on his side so he couldn't move them. Jason smirked at him, making Cassius narrow his eyes.

Despite Cassius kicking and biting feebly a couple of times, he couldn't do much while being tied up. He felt the uncomfortable sticky tape tugging harshly against his bare skin, leaving ugly red burns. Cassius body was tensed, looking up at the sky as he felt the wind blow on his expose body. He blinked back watery eyes, hearing them laugh at him. He was lucky enough to move his hands to cover his private part but the metal pole touching his butt wasn't that all comfortable.

"You did what you wanted to do. Just leave already!" Cassius yelled at them, just wanting to go home already.

"Oh no mate, we ain't through yet," Jason smirked.

Cassius groaned when they brought out a sack full of rugby balls and much to his horror, a handheld camcorder.

They all each grabbed a ball while Jason pressed the record button, facing the camera directly at Cassius.

"Why are you doing this?!" Cassius yelled at him, hoping to stop him.

"Because your a freak," Jason snarled. "And freaks don't belong with us."

With that punch to the heart, Cassius braced himself when he saw the first rugby ball soar through the air. His eyes quickly clenched in pain as he felt that the material of the ball smacking roughly against his bare skin. They continued to assault him with more balls, red and angry marks covering his entire body. Even the slightest twitch, brought a searing pain in his entire body. His shoulders, chest, arms, and legs were soon littered with transforming ugly purple and blue bruises from the blows he has taken. His left eye was swollen, most likely a black-eye forming. His lip was busted and there was a cut right in his cheek.

Cassius closed his eyes, the only thing that he could focus was the sound of rugby balls hitting him, the laughter of the guys in front him, enjoying his pain. It hurt so much. They wouldn't stop. No matter how much he begged, no matter how much he prayed for them to stop inflicting anymore agony on him, they continue like he was nothing.

Tears ran down Cassius face. He couldn't take it anymore. He could feel his body growing tired and Cassius was scared that he was going to pass out. Another ball thrown at him. More pain. More laughter. He started to choke on his own air when they hit him directly in the throat. He wheezed, coughing loudly. Cassius wanted to drop to his knees but the duct-tape was holding him back.

"Please!" He gasped. "Please! Stop!"

They didn't listen. They didn't care. Nobody did for him. They all think that this was just game. They didn't care the amount of pain his is going through. And it's not just the physical pain. They don't understand the mental anguish he is suffering through because they don't have to suffer through it. Nobody would understand that he is drowning in his own anger. The urge to fight back, grasping on the last ounce of hope of getting through this when it just slips through your fingers like sand. You think why do I deserve such a cruel punishment, why do I have to suffer? Why does it have to be me?

"No, no we are not going to stop because you know why?" Jason hurled another rugby ball at Cassius, hitting him directly in the chest. "Because you deserve every single pain. You deserve all of this."

"Stop!" Cassius shouted weakly, his face screwing up in agony.

"There's no happy ending for you, mate. Your a freak and freaks like you don't get to live a normal life. You don't get to live a happy life."

Another blow. More pain.

"I-I am not a freak," Cassius glared weakly at them, his chest rising up and down.

Despite the cold weather, Cassius began to feel sweat roll down his body, his face heating up in red. He panicked when he felt the familiar feeling of heat traveling across his chest and body. His fingers twitched, wanting to release the anger but Cassius couldn't allow that.

"Pl-please. Just go al-," they cut off his sentence as they continue to throw balls at him, one of them hitting him directly in his face.

He could feel his pulse rising, his heart drumming through his ears painfully. His shoulders were rising up and down at an abnormal rate, his breathing coming out in puffs of anger. His body was rigid as he could feel the rhythm on his chest increase by each blow and each word. Cassius was a ticking time-bomb and these idiots lit up the match.

"No, your right. Your not a freak," Jason, gripped tightly to a rugby ball while continuing to record with the other. "Your a bloody monster."

Jason took a step back before launching the rugby ball towards Cassius. They were waiting for another shout of pain to ring in their ears but it never did. The ball never touched Cassius. Instead, it was changed into a pile of ashes in front of Cassius feet. Jason and his crew all took a wary step back as they stared at Cassius, who had his head bowed down.

The temperatures drastically increased that Jason could feel a single sweat rolling down his neck. A heat wave hit all of them, coming out of nowhere. Every little drop of rain that touched Cassius skin, soon dissolve into gas, the sound of sizzling echo on their ears. Their eyes widen a bit when they saw steam radiating off from Cassius body, his skin turning a burning red. Cassius slowly lifted his head up and they all were ready to piss their pants. His eyes. They were on fire.

Before they could breath or bat an eyelash, Cassius entire body was engulfed in flames. All of a sudden, there was a loud _BOOM_ and more flames appeared, burning the entire soccer field. All you could see was fire, the heat rivaling the temperature of the sun. Just as quickly as the explosion appeared, it was soon gone. It was sucked away, the flames entering back into Cassius body until he was nothing but a bright flame.

The fire burned off the tape around him, hell, Cassius managed to melt the metal goal post, leaving only a puddle of liquid metal on the charred grass. He fell on his knees, the weight of his own body being too much for him to hold from how weak he was from the hits. But then again, Cassius couldn't have felt anymore powerful as he finally released all the anger, the fire licking and dancing across his skin like it was part of him. The fire was him.

Glancing around, he felt the fire in him diminishing away as the fire that appeared in his eye sockets went back to normal. The relief was soon changed into fear as he spotted Jason and his friends bodies a couple of feet away from where they were standing. The explosion knocked them out of their feet, literally. Quickly slipping on his underwear and his pants, Cassius sprinted towards them.

He dropped to his knees next to Jason, his mouth wide-open in shock. Jason entire body was burnt, his skin blistered and charred black. He could see fresh flesh exposing in the air, making Cassius sick to the stomach. He caused this. Cassius shakily placed his ear on his ruined shirt. Shutting his eyes, Cassius breathed out a sigh of relief when he heard a soft thump. He was alive.

But Cassius almost killed them. They maybe alive but Cassius severely injured them. They would have scars, never looking the same ever again and it was all his fault. They could have died and it would be on his hands. He was a monster.

"I'm sorry," a single tear slid down his soot covered cheek before scrambling on his feet.

Not even thinking twice, Cassius quickly dashed away. He left his bike and belongings behind. He just needed to get far away as possible. And not just the school. His feet slapped against the concrete street, feeling his feet gaining a couple scrape here and there but that didn't slow him down. When he heard the sirens, he ran faster. He pumped his arms by his side, his legs moving quickly to run faster. His lungs were begging to breathe but Cassius didn't let them. He has to run.

The area soon changed from the city to a farmland. Cassius stopped for just one second, bending over to catch his breath. His hair was matted down because of the rain, water droplets drenching him to the bones. But he was still burning up. He could feel the heat vibrating underneath his skin, waiting to be release once again. Ignoring the mud between his toes, Cassius once again was running.

He finally made it to the farm as he struggled to push open the wooden fence that was twice his size, quickly passing by the family dog, Sam. For once, Cassius was happy his parents weren't home. Because they were financially struggling because of him, they both had to gain two jobs just to keep the land.

Barging through the old, wooden, two-story family house, Cassius ran up the stairs. Everything was a blur a to him. Clothes were flying everywhere, being stuffed in backpacks, mostly likely going the to be wrinkly but he didn't care. He quickly changed into different clothes, not even bothering to wash up the mud caked on his skin. He couldn't waste anymore time. Stuffing all the stuff that were important to him in a single bag, Cassius quickly grabbed a picture frame of him and his parents.

His eyes burned with tears as shaky fingers slipped the picture out of the frame, folding it and stuffing it in his pocket. Slinging on his backpack, he quickly raced down the stairs and to the kitchen. Grabbing a garbage bag, he stuffed food in it. He whirled around in frantic, checking mentally in his head that he has everything that he needed.

With one last thing to do, Cassius grabbed a napkin and pen. He started to write a letter to his parents. Once he was finished writing, reading it over a thousand times, Cassius placed the letter on the kitchen table. He took in a huge breath in, trying to stop his hands from shaking but the wouldn't. Rubbing his face, his eyes red from crying, Cassius left through the back door. Jumping over the fence, Cassius walked up the tall hill, the soft drizzle turning into a heavy pour fall.

When he reached the peak of the hill, Cassius looked back at his home for one last time, being the last time he might see it ever again. Flipping the hood of his jacket over his bruised face, Cassius threw the garbage bag full of food over his shoulder, gripping the plastic tightly in his hands. Turning his back, Cassius began to run for the safety of his parents.


	2. Chapter 1

**Third POV**

It has been seven years. Seven bloody, goddamn years since Cassius ran away. There hasn't been a day where he doesn't think of that day. That's all he can see when he closes his eyes. The crisped body of Jason Martin, his pain was clearly evident from the whimpers that escaped from his lips. And the fire, there was so much fire.

Cassius was now fifteen years old now and he has changed a lot since that day. His lanky body was now lean but still skinny from all the running he has to do. His growth spurt had finally hit him, looming about 5'10 over his 4'9 height when he was a kid. As glad as he is for his sudden ability to see over people, it was a struggle for him to find clothes that fit him when his old clothes could barely cover half of his stomach.

He lost all of his baby fat around cheeks, which they are now sculpted from either genetics or the lack of food he receives. He was no longer skin and bones, receiving a bit of muscle mass here and there. His hair has also grew longer, curling around the edges as they reach to the tips of his ears. Dark circles were planted underneath his eyes from his very weird and hectic sleeping schedule.

Ever since that incident, he has been wanted and has been labeled as a dangerous man around innocent people. Cassius couldn't argue with that, people should stay away from him. Over the past seven years, he has been journeying around Europe, hopping from one town to the next, and being chased by the law enforcement.

The one thing that Cassius could look at the bright side in the situation is that he could explore around the world. Despite only being around the Europe area, Cassius has seen and visited the most magical places. With the art in France, the music at Spain, the history in Ireland, the alcoholic beverages in Germany (even though he can't get drunk), and the delicious food in Italy. The cultures in these countries were extraordinary, but it would have been more fun if he had someone there with him to share it with.

Cassius couldn't stay at one place for too long, he has to keep running. The longest he has ever stayed at one place, it was about a month. And the was because he needed to recollect new supplies. Being on the run, you tend to lose a few things here and there. He quickly learned that he had to carry light and decide which is essential and which weren't. Cassius, however never lost the small picture that weighed in his front pocket. He sometimes clutches it to his chest when he tries to sleep.

One of the many downsides of being on the run, is that Cassius couldn't stay at a luxurious hotel or stay at a temporary home just to take a breather. Cassius usually sleeps in run-down motels when he has money, which isn't much. He shivers when he thinks about the times he had to sleep behind dumpsters, the stench rolling the small amount of food he has in his stomach. He would sometimes sleep at parks, woods, benches, or even abandoned buildings.

Throughout his journey, Cassius made sure to keep minimum friends and those people were just acquaintances. He only talked to people when he need directions or help translate a word when he couldn't teach the word to himself. He couldn't let people in. What was the point in getting attach to someone when you were just about to leave the next day?

Over the past few weeks, word about him being wanted has dimmed away. The law enforcement seemed to almost give up on finding Cassius, believing that there is a possibility that he might be dead. It was better for people to forget about him, its for the best.

His destination right now, is to go to Greece. He has heard from other tourists that the waters were so clean and clear, that is was like looking through glass. Cassius had to see it for himself. He was currently in Sokovia, a place that Cassius didn't even knew existed. He kinda knows why because this place isn't much. It was a really poor city, overpopulated, and in desperate need of financial needs. He had to cross through a fence, accepting the fact that it would mostly likely be illegal and would bite him in the arse in the future. Sometimes, there would be these horrible riots that causes many injured citizens. Apparently, they don't take liking of any warfare when in the past, there was some sort of bombing that took place, taking away innocent lives. Cassius has seen and been in worst places.

It was currently night time as the light of the sun was soon replaced by the darkness of the moon, stars dotting across the night sky. Hood shadowing half of his face, Cassius tightened the straps of his backpack, his finger less gloves holding tightly to a worn-out map with a language that he seriously needed to learn. He was wearing a pair of worn out jeans, black hiking boots, a grey long-sleeve shirt with a hood that was small for his size, and an army jacket. They were the best clothing they had in the homeless shelters.

Like Cassius mentioned before, the town wasn't much with crumbling buildings and wire fences, the people here looking like they were preparing for war. Despite the anger in the air, Cassius couldn't help but see the beauty through the destruction. People call him weird but he calls it seeing the beauty of the broken. He couldn't argue that the architecture was amazing. Old but still beautiful to stare at. Most of the buildings were made out of bricks, so tall that it hurts his neck every time he looks for the peak of the building. The streets were made out of cobblestones, reminding him a bit of home. However, the town was a need of help as he spotted many homeless and sick people on the street.

There was graffiti on the walls, saying very cruel things about the government. But mostly, they were paintings of the Iron Man suits, dollar bill signs painted on his face. Cassius may be a nomad but it doesn't mean that he doesn't pay attention to the news. Sokovia looked like they hated the Avengers guts, especially Iron Man, Tony Stark. Anyone who mentions his name, they would receive a face full of spit.

Shaking his head, Cassius ignored the taunting of the people around him on the streets. Things never changed for him as he tensed when a glass battle was at thrown his direction, shattering when it touched the floor. Cassius just ignored them, placing his focus on the map. He was looking for the bus station or any means of transportation at all so he can reach Greece.

 _"Hej , ste stratili dieťa?" (Are you lost, kid?)_ One of the group member said to him, most likely the leader since they have been following him ever since he walked past a convenient store.

It took a couple of minutes for Cassius to translate the language in his head.

 _"Nie," (No)_ Cassius responded gruffly, using one of the very few vocabulary of Slovak that he knows.

Cassius picked up the pace, folding the map and stuffing it in his pocket. Right now, he was hoping to get inside a building or be surrounded by the public as the group continues to follow him. He was turning left and right, his knowledge of the geography of this city being very little. Cassius gritted his teeth when he heard the group of men cackle behind his back, taunting and cursing worse than a sailor at him.

The buildings started to narrow down at him as he stuffed his clenched fists inside his jacket. Taking another turn, Cassius didn't realize he was leading them down an alleyway until he soon became face to face with a brick wall.

Cursing to himself under his breath, Cassius bowed his head when he heard the gang advance towards him. He heard the familiar click of a gun, making him take in a deep breath. He couldn't lose his cool and cause a scene. He managed so far to not to be in the media for a while and he wanted to keep the track a little longer.

He slowly took out his fists out his jacket pocket when he felt the cold metal of the barrel touch the back of his head. They were yelling fast and loud at him, not being able to understand what they were saying from the speed. Cassius still hasn't faced them yet until the person that was pointing the gun at him, shot a bullet in the air.

Cassius quickly raised his hands in the air before slowly turning around. When most people get jumped with a person holding a gun, their eyes would go directly to the weapon. Not Cassius. His attention was taken away from the gun pointed at his face and instead, was focused the scene behind his assaulter.

He has never seen such a weird sight and that is coming from the person who can conjure up a single flame with a blink of an eye. What use to be about seven or eight members of the gang, were soon all lying on the ground. His eyes widen comically when he saw blood seeping out of their bodies, no longer breathing. Some had their throats slit open while others were stabbed in the chest, directly in the heart for an instant kill.

When the gang leader noticed Cassius expression, he turned around only to scream out in rage at the scene in front him. The gang leader was crying out in Sovak, Cassius only translating the words like _"dead"_ , _"kill"_ , and _"kid"_. Cassius back slammed against the brick wall as the gun was pointed once again to his face. He raised his hands up, ready to use them if he needed to as he stared down at the male holding the weapon at him.

He was a middle age man and Cassius took notice of a wedding ring on his left hand. His thinning gray hair was hidden underneath a beanie, covered in clothes for the cold. But what Cassius stared into his eyes, which were coal black, swirling with emotions such as anger, grief, and sadness. He was shaking and Cassius knew that he was blaming him for the deaths of his friends.

When Cassius saw him stiffen, he prepared himself to move out of the way when the man pulled the trigger. It never came. Furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, Cassius watched as the man leaned to one side, his eyes staring into his own. The man soon collapsed to the ground, the grip on the gun in his hands going loose.

His eyes widen even more when he saw blood coming out of the mans mouth. There was a knife stabbing the gang leader's back. Snapping his head up, Cassius felt his heart hammering in fear when he stared at the person responsible for killing these people. It was clearly a male by the shape of his body. He was tall and bulky, sporting shoulder-length brown hair that looks stringy. The man was wearing an all black tactical outfit, guns and knives strapped to his body. He wore a black mask that covered the lower part of his face, only showing his light blue eyes that were dark and menacing. Yet, what caught Cassius attention was the man arm. One of his arm was made completely out of silver metal, a red star planted on his shoulder.

 _"Prosím,"_ _(Please)_ Cassius voice shook much to his anger. _"Nechaj ma ísť." (Let me go)_

But Cassius knew he wasn't going to as the killer took a step closer to him, stepping over a dead body with an unfazed look on his face. The killer wanted him.

Cassius instincts soon kicked in as he flicked his wrists at the killer, a swish of flames appearing out of his hands and hitting the killer. The metal arm man with amazing reflexes ducked to the side and Cassius took that as his chance. He ran, jumping over the dead bodies and sprinted down the empty streets. He could hear the metal arm man running after him, making him run even faster.

Despite Cassius being a fast runner, the killer was faster as he tackled Cassius to the ground. They wrestled for a bit, Cassius moving his head to the side, barely avoiding a punch to the face. He groaned when the killer jabbed his knee deep on his ribs. Staring at the man trying to kill him, Cassius eyes burned before they burst into orange-red flames.

Cassius placed his hand on the killer's chest before unleashing fire out of the palms of his hands. He watched with wide eyes as the killer flew back, crashing against a dumpster. Shaking his steaming hands, Cassius scrambled back on his feet before trying to make a run for it.

However, Cassius was never a lucky person. The killer recovered quicker than he thought he would, holding expertly to a gun. Next thing that Cassius knew, he was lying on his back, staring up at the stars. The muscles on his neck strained out as he tried to scream out in pain but no noise came out. He had a hand applying pressure to the gun wound on his shoulder, cringing when he could feel the circular hole, his flesh ripped by the bullet. Blood soon coated his hands as he tried to stand up but he fell right back down.

The beautiful stars were quickly shielded by the person that shot him. Cassius eyes changed back to normal, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" Cassius gasped out.

Not answering his question, the metal arm man lifted a shoe up for slamming it against Cassius face. His eyes went cross-eyed, a stabbing pain rattling his brain before everything went black. His body went slack on the cobble street. The man easily threw Cassius over his shoulder before carrying him out of sight.


	3. Chapter 2

**Third POV**

Once Cassius managed to open his groggy eyes, he wished that he hasn't. He hissed when he felt pain hitting his shoulder as he was lying down on the mattress on the floor. Blinking multiple times to clear his vision, memories of what happened hit him full course.

Ignoring the pain as the adrenaline numbed it out, Cassius jumped on his feet. There was many things that he noticed as he took in his surroundings. First thing, was that he does not have his bag with him. In fact, he only had the clothes on his back and nothing else.

Second, was that he was locked in what looks like a cell. There was bars in front of him, with bulletproof glass on the other side. The walls were made out of tiles while the floors were made out of cement. The only thing in his room was a lump of mattress on the floor and toilet and sink in the corner of the room. There was a rectangular window, but that too was also covered in bars and bulletproof glass.

Cassius soon began to panic when he realized he was locked up in a cell. Whipping his head around, he desperately tried to find an escape route, finding nothing. A hand still placed over his wounded shoulder, he carefully pulled down his jacket and shirt. Exposing the white bandage, his face scrunched up in pain as he slowly peeled off the medical tape. Grunting in discomfort, his head got a bit woozy when he took notice of the sloppy work of the stitches. What use to be a quarter-size bullet wound, now contained his skin tightly pulled together and stretching, tied messily with stitches. There was even skin overlapping skin, dried blood caking the wound.

He shivered, hastily covering the wound up with the bandage. Pulling on his clothes, he furiously wiped the unshed tears forming in his eyes with the back of his hand as he tugged on his hair. Eyes wide and alert, he used his uninjured arm to toss the mattress across the cell. Nothing. Patting the tiled wall, he frantically tried to find something, anything to either give him a clue to tell him where he is at. Nails scraping against the metal, he gave out a frustrating scream as all he did was scrape a couple layers of skin from his fingers. Slapping the palm of his hand against the wall, he brushed his curly hair from his sweaty forehead. Body tensing in rage, Cassius sprinted towards the bars, gripping it tightly with his hands. He began to shake violently, harshly tugging on the bars as if that would be able to set him free. He was tired, his body was sore, and he was hungry, which was not a good combination at all.

"Hey! Hey!" Cassius shouted in rage and panic. "Let me out! Let me out!"

Breathing heavily through gritted teeth, his hands started to heat up, steam rising into the air. The smell of burning metal hit Cassius in the nose as the bars started to turn a bright red. Right when he was about to pull apart the bars with his bare hands, he quickly stopped his actions when he heard the door opening.

Soon, a man appeared in front of Cassius cell, following behind him was a couple of guards gripping tightly to some rifles. The man was bald, about middle age. His face was worn out, having scars here and there. He was wearing a black turtleneck, with a black trench coat, and black tactical pants. He had this odd, tech looking monocle covering one eye.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" Cassius quickly questioned him. "What is going on?!"

The man had the nerve to laugh, making Cassius even more furious than he was before.

"Cassius Keen," monocle dude stepped forward, with an accent that Cassius didn't care to know about. "You sure are a difficult child to find."

"H-How do you know my name?" Cassius voice shook, much to his frustration as he leaned his head back.

Dread filled him straight to his bones and he could feel his heart racing in fear. He didn't know where he was at or what was going on.

"How rude of me?" The man placed a hand over his heart, feigning an apologetic look. "I did not introduce myself. I am Baron, Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker."

Cassius just shook his head, his chest heaving up and down as if he was hyperventilating.

"I-I, d-don't understand," Cassius shook. "I don't know who you are or why you bloody snatch me in the middle of the streets! J-Just let me g-go! Pl-Please!"

The man just pursed his lips together, tilting his to one side as he gave Cassius a look that was a mixture of annoyance and false sympathy.

"I'm sorry, have you always sound this pathetic?" Baron just clicked his tongue as he rubbed his forehead. "No worries, Hydra will make you strong."

"Hyd-Hydra?" Cassius frantically shook his head, not understanding anything on what's going on. "Like the Greek monster?"

"Exactly," Baron snapped his fingers, a maniac glint in his eyes as he shot Cassius a mad smile. "Glad that you are worth something. If a head is cut off, two more shall take its place. Don't worry , you will understand our ways soon."

"I-If this is some cult then I don't want any-," Cassius was harshly interrupted as Baron slammed the palm of his hands against the glass, the noise making Cassius flinch back and falling onto his ass.

"Never. Ever. Insult, Hydra's name," Cassius shook as he could practically feel the venom dripping through each word being spat at him. "Hydra will create a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security. Be grateful to sacrifice yourself for Hydra to save humankind."

"Grateful? Grateful?" Cassius scrambled up onto his feet before pressing his face against the cool metal bars. "I am anything but grateful! You are bonkers if you will assume I am going to bow my head down like some sort of slave!"

"No, not a slave," Baron took a step closer, his eyes darting across Cassius enraged facial expression. "We just need you to be a weapon. A soldier."

Cassius breathed heavily through his nostrils, feeling steam emitting out of his body as Baron took a step back.

"Take him to the sanitation chambers," Baron barked at his guards. "And if he fights back, break one of his bones."

Heart stopping for just a millisecond, Cassius quickly took a step as the guards obediently did what they were told to do and opened the cell. When he spotted the cladded, combat boot step inside the cell, instincts took over. He quickly clenched his fists, before flicking his fingers out. As if they were matches, both of his hands were engulfed in bright, orange-red flames.

He quickly lifted his flamed fists up in the air, posing them in a fighting stance as the guards quickly lifted their guns, feeling threaten and weary of the teenage boy in front of him. Strucker, who has felt the heat from all the way across the room, halted in his tracks and watched the scene in front of him unamused.

"Get. Away. From. Me," Cassius expressed each word with greeted teeth.

Despite the shakiness underneath his words, the hard look in his eyes was proof enough to let them know he was not going down without a fight.

"Don't worry, we will erase that rebellion out of you soon," Baron then gave his men a short nod in their direction.

Face pinched in confusion, the flames around his fists flickered as the guards exchanged their assault rifles with these handguns that seemed to altered with high-tech technology. Shoulders pushed back, stances spread out, arms in preparation of the shock coming afterwards and lets not forget the stone-cold look plaster on their faces.

Faster than Cassius could blink, one of the guards pulled on the trigger. The only thing that Cassius could remember is this high-pitch whistling sound emitting from the small weapon before two small, pebble size round objects were propelled in his directions. Hitting him straight in the chest, he only felt a small sting before the sensation of his nerves being fried coursed his entire body.

His brain quickly went blank, the fire going out of his hands as he couldn't concentrate to keep it up when a thousand volts of electricity attack his cerebrum. Muscle spasming without his control, he could feel a pool of saliva filling his mouth as the hairs on his arms stood up and the smell of burning flesh filled his senses. Dropping onto one knee, he forgot how to breathe as all he could take notice of his body being electrocuted.

For what felt like centuries, the sensation of volts of electricity being shocked and frying his nervous system finally stopped. Cassius gave out a grunt, barely catching himself from face planting against the floor by placing his palms on the floor. Wheezing, he could feel the veins from his neck straining out painfully, his face red as his head felt fuzzy and heavy. Despite the guards in front of him being blurry, Cassius was able to make out one of the guards about to pull the trigger again. Alarmed and panicked, he tried to crawl away from them but even he knew it was pointless.

Barely managing to turn his back to them, a cry of pain was stuck in his throat when he felt a sting at the back of his shoulder blades. Next, a buzzing sound rang through his ears as his body tensed up, his muscles twitching and spasming out of his control once again. Eyes, rolling to the back of his head, he couldn't help but lean forward and fall straight to the ground again.

Sprawled on the ground in an awkward position, Cassius couldn't seen to care that his face scraped against the floor. The only thing he could focus was the amounts of electricity being ejecting into his system. He could literally feel his own heart sputter here and there, softly fluttering down, scaring him to the point that he actually thought he was going to die. Muscles tensing up, his neurons imbalanced, Cassius was barely conscious as they stopped their assault on him.

Cassius did not have the energy to fight back at all, his head rolling to one side as the guards grabbed each arm. Only hoisting him up from the torso up, the guards carelessly dragged his legs out of the cell. The lights above them seemed to focus and unfocus on their own record, making Cassius even more dizzy than he already was. A ringing sound echo in his head, the objects that were electrocuting him still embedding to his body which they managed to crisp through layers of clothes and onto his skin. Cassius winced as he just imagined the burnt skin surrounding it, the red ugly blisters already forming. Right after they shut the cell door next to him, he managed to catch a glimpse to what he would call 'home' for the next couple of months. The glistening, wrinkled, reflection was all the reassurance he needed before he finally blacked out.

With a sharp inhale of breath, Cassius was woken straight back into consciousness as burning hot water was splash harsly against his own skin. The water was not hot, as if it was boiling. It was more like a chemical burn, making Cassius realize he woke himself up by his very own screaming. And the frightening thing was, he didn't even realize he was screaming in pain until he was panting out of breath. Especially towards the bullet wound on his shoulder.

It felt like someone was dissolving layers and layers of pure muscle tissues, peeling them off one by one. He may never felt the sensation of being burned from a simple flame but it sure as hell felt like he was. And he had to say, he was not a big fan of it.

Rasping out a breath that sounded like he was choking onto something, Cassius quickly wiped the liquid that blinded his eyesight. The cooling, disgusting, cobble floor felt refreshing to his burning skin soon realizing that he was lying on the ground.

Bowing his head down, he got onto his knees, the palm of his hands holding him up as he weakly tried to dodge the stream of what smelled like, alcohol? Sanitizer? Eyes burning and welling up in tears, Cassius blindly fumbled with his hands as he tried to get a grip onto something, anything to stable himself. Cutting his fingers as they fumbled against a rocky, sharp texture, he tiredly placed his left cheek on what he assumed is the wall.

Ignoring the sensation of small cuts forming on his hands, he curled his fingers into a tight fist before open his mouth once again, letting out a blood curdling scream that rattled his own chest and felt like he tore a muscle inside his trachea.

The pressure of heavy water stabbing him was finally revealed, leaving Cassius to drop back down to the ground in a puddle of whatever it was that was burning his skin. Spitting out mouthful of what he was for sure knew as sanitizer, he leaned back on the rocky wall. Cassius swiped his drenched hair that was covering his eyes, finally taking note that he was sitting on the floor, bare-naked. With any ounce of strength and dignity he had left of himself, he quickly covered his family jewels, ignoring that his butt was exposed to a bunch of strangers in front of him.

Panting and shaking, Cassius couldn't help but glare with so much rage at the people in front of him, he had to suppress the sensation of just letting go.

"Wh-What are yo-you doing to m-me?" Cassius sputtered out, staring at his bright red skin as if he was badly sunburnt.

His body shook in pain, his nostrils burning that it burned his lungs as he resisted the urge to scratch his eyes, blinking multiple times as if that would get rid of the irritation. Quickly glancing around his site, he tried to take detail of where he was with his brain a still bit foggy from the sudden awakening.

It looked like he was in a chamber of some sort, the walls and floors a dark grey color, made out of some cobblestone. There was a couple of chains, rusted and stained with blood, yet they looked sturdy being connected to the wall and all. There were no windows, just a door that Cassius was barely to identify a couple of feet in front of him. With the single light burning brighter than a christmas tree as if its main goal is to blind him, Cassius was able to make out the door to made out to be thick, heavy with metal. A pad was next to the door, meaning, that it made Cassius job more difficult in how to maneuver his way through, wherever the hell he was being cooped up in.

His observations was abruptly interrupted as he sprayed with a pressurized water straight to his face, no surprise if he received a black-eye. Using one of his hands, he quickly covered his face with his forearm as he tried to crawl away from the chemical-burning water.

"Stop! Stop! Stop! P-Please!" Cassius begged as he began to struggle to breathe through the smell of heavy sanitation. "Just stop!"

Hearing a round of chuckles, Cassius coughed, trying to inhale oxygen that was less dense, sighing in relief from his skin blistering even more. Cassius just curled even more into a ball, as if that would shield him away from his kidnappers in front of me.

"He's weak," one of them spatted out in disgust, a sneer plaster onto his face, his voice heavy with a European accent.

"He'll die before he could make it to the second phase," the other guard agree with him.

Cassius face twitched, their words bouncing in his head. He briefly closed his eyes, meditating in his head as he could feel his heart racing in his chest. He did this by blocking the way his skin felt raw and exposed, the stinging sensation on his shoulder that he wanted nothing more to scratch. Instead, he focused the texture of the wall, the cool floor, imaging his heart to slow down to his own accord.

His eyes snapped open when something was tossed on top of his head. Flinching, his free hand that was not covering his dignity, curled around a thin and stiff material. Unraveling it, he quickly realized that they were a pair of clothes. Not wasting any time, he quickly hauled himself back onto his shaky feet, turned around, and quickly changed.

There was a pair of white sweatpants that reached to his ankles and a white tank top that was a bit loose on him. If Cassius did not have a natural heating ability and being capable in never feeling cold, he would be confident he would have received hypothermia with the thin fabric when he noticed his own breath in front of his face.

Once he was fully dressed, the guards in front of him did not hesitate to shackle up not only his wrists but also his ankles. Licking his chapped lips, soon regretting when he tasted nothing but the sanitation, his face twisted into discomfort as the metal chains dug into his skin. No doubt, they were going to bruise.

They were smart to chain him up first because after they did, they placed this collar around his neck as if he was some sort of animal. He chains rattled as he struggled against their restraints but it was futile when he heard a small _click_ before a loud _beep_ echo in the dark room. Cassius gave out a choke coughed when the metal collar struck his adam's apple, resisting the urge to throw up from the blow. It finally hit him that he was truly trapped here and they would try in their very power to keep it that way.

With no choice, Cassius was forced to walk ahead behind one of the guards, the other trailing behind him, watching his every move. Cassius watched with hooded eyes as the guard in front of him stopped in front of the heavy door, that appeared to withstand a nuclear explosion. His ears perked up when he heard the pitter-patter of buttons being pushed. He then saw the guard raise his hand before placing it against the pad. A dim, blue line appeared at the top before slowly lowering itself down before going back up a again. A green flash soon appeared. Finally, the guard lowered down and was eye-level with the pad.

"Приветствую Гидру," the guard spoke with a heavy accent.

Furrowing his eyebrows at the strange language, that sounded like Russian, the door gave out a loud groan, before a bunch of heavy clicks finally opened the door. Blinking back at the dimly lit hallway, that was brighter than the chamber, he soon found himself following behind the guard.

He really wished they could have least provided him with some shoes as he could feel the dust and dirt collecting and hiding between his toes. He tried his best to keep track in where he was going or at least keep an eye out for any potential exits. However, when he took his 50th turn, a headache was surfacing when he was struggling to remember which direction was left and which one was right.

He was considering in melting the chains but then there was the problem with the collar around his neck. Before he could even get the chance to burn it to ashes, they would hurt him without hesitating. And he really did not want to know what that thing could do to him, besides being a fashion accessory.

And even if there was a chance to burn the collar into nothing, he also had to consider in fighting these two guards and finding a way out without alerting anyone that he was escaping. Not only did he not know where he was at but he also did not know how many people are here or what they are capable of.

He was soon knocked out of his plotting when the guard in front of him stopped at an open entrance filled with people. The entrance was just this tall, open arch with no door. The inside of the room was made like everything in this building, cobblestone. There are computers circling around the center, which contained a metal table with restraints on the side. The bright white lab coats contrasted against the inside, of what looked like a, medical room? The people wearing lab coats were all older looking men, walking around like a headless chicken with clipboards glue to their hands as they tickered with either machines or mixing chemical together.

Clenching his jaw, he almost did not spot the guards surrounding them, watching their every move. If it weren't the reflection of the guns, he would have not notice them since their clothing blended nicely in the shadows. A sharp jab towards his back made him give out a hiss in pain before he stumble forward, getting the message.

Cassius fiddle with his fingers nervously as everybody stopped and looked him. Like Moses parting the sea, everybody stepped to the side as someone walked towards his direction. Seeing red, Cassius could feel the steam rolling off his body, sizzling as the heat dissolved the sanitization coating his skin, no doubt only fueling the fire that just want to burst underneath his fingerprints.

Baron Strucker stood right in front of him, a smug look plaster on his face as he took in Cassius appearance. Clothes that made him a look like a prisoner and the restraints circling him. He really wanted to risk it all, by just having the opportunity to punch him and shove that monocle straight through his eye socket, implanting it in his brain so he can fix his vision.

" ," Baron raised his palms up theatrically, a small device in one of his hand before he placed them behind his back. "You have cleaned up nicely."

"You son of a- AGH!"

Cassius dropped to his knees, his hands quickly going to his neck as a bright, blue light cackle around the room. The sudden burst of electricity stung his neck, feeling like his brain was being microwaved, the words that were about to escape his mouth was lost as his tongue went dry, losing feeling of his jaw. There was a ringing in his ears as his body spasm at the attack.

Just as it started, it quickly ended, leaving him breathless and his head spinning with dizziness.

"You will speak, when you are given permission to speak," Baron scolded him as if he was scolding a pet. "Nifty little device, isn't it? It's hard isn't it? To concentrate on anything, when someone is frying a body's nervous system?"

Cassius could only pant in exhaustion, feeling light-headed as he just stared at Baron with a weak glare.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Baron lightly tapped his temple with his index and middle finger, before waving it in front of him in his direction. "You can speak."

"I'm," he panted. "Going … to burn … this … place … to ashes."

"Hmmm," Baron was not affected with his threat. "I don't think so."

He pressed a button on the small device and Cassius was once again withering on the ground in agony. The guards quickly stepped away from him as they all watch him twitch uncontrollably, white foam soon pooling around his mouth and seeping at the corner of his lips. His heart felt like it was going to explode inside of him, the tendons around his neck exposed vigorously as his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

Once the assault finally stopped, Cassius just laid on the ground, sucking in as much air that he can with a dazed look in his eyes.

"Just cooperate, and you will not get punished. If you don't comply, well, I will send enough volts of electricity to melt your eyeballs and explode your heart," Baron just smiled, rubbing his hands. "But I do love that fiery spirit in you. You had me worrying, with all that begging previously. Nice to know there is fight in you after all."

Cassius meekly forced himself to get up, still feeling his muscles twitching without his consent. He felt like deadweight, everything going slow as he was hauled up by the two guards before he was dragged to the center of room. He was carelessly thrown on top of the metal table. He watched with half-hooded eyes as they unchained him to just chaining him back again, this time being trapped on the table.

Eyes unfocused, his head rolled to the side, watching everybody moving around but it was like not everything was registering in his brain on what they were doing. They ripped the shirt he was wearing down to the middle, discarding the material somewhere. Blinking, his ears felt like it was stuffed with cottons as he scientists surround him like he was fresh meat. Their lips were moving but Cassius did not hear a word they were saying.

His own head felt to heavy for him to hold as he shakily lifted it up as he watched them place white, sticky pads all over his body, wires connecting to machines around him. He dropped his head back down at the table, his curls bouncing at the movement as they placed two pads around his temple.

His face scrunched up when they inserted an IV on his forearm, watching helplessly as it drew blood from his body and straight into a blood bag. Swallowing dryly, Baron loomed over him like the devil himself.

"Why? Why are you doing this?" Cassius rasped out when he darkness seeping through the edges of his vision.

"Because," Baron stated it as if it was obvious, his voice sounding muffled. "We are doing this because of the Avengers, because of S.H.I.E.L.D. Hydra will now become the downfall of them. You would be our key to their destruction. We are going to build the ultimate weapon out of you.

"Why … me?" It was getting harder for him to stay conscious at this point but he had to know.

"The world on fire and Hydra surviving the end of the world, we would become superior. Start a new world right this time. You would become a god."

 _There's no we_ , Cassius wanted to say but then everything turned dark, his eyelids too heavy for him to hold.

The first thing that Cassius noticed once he came around, was that he was laying down on a very stiff and lumpy texture. Slowly opening his eyes, Cassius gave out a small groan when a throbbing headache soon appeared his head. He could literally feel his brain pulsating behind his eyes. Blinking his eyes multiple times, he raised his arm up to rub his tired face.

However, when a hard, metal, clank against the side of his wrist, did he froze before glancing down at his neck. Seeing the metal collar around his neck, the red light flashing which indicates that it was currently on, made everything come flooding towards him. Memories of where he was and what happened that last time he was awake made Cassius turned his head to side when he felt his stomach churning.

A disgusting, burning sensation traveled up his throat as he threw up the last remains of the food in his stomach on the ground. His eyes watered at the feeling and the smell of his food coming out, the foul taste lingering in his mouth. Clearing his throat, he spit that last remains from his mouth before weakly wiping his mouth with the side of his arm.

Not a second later, the door to his so called 'room' opened and in walked in a guard. Spit still drooling from his bottom lip, Cassius watched with half-opened eyes as a metal tray was tossed in his direction. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, his face couldn't help but twist into a disgusted look at what was on top of the metal tray.

The best description Cassius could say would be a gray blob with a hunk of white bread next to it. Cassius stomach churned as he imagined that being inside his stomach.

"Hope you are hungry," the voice of Strucker sent steam rolling off of Cassius body.

Cassius didn't say anything but throw his head back on the cell wall, his glared directed towards Strucker who appeared behind the guard. With his hands behind his back, Strucker looked down at Cassius as if he was a kid who didn't behave well in class. Glancing back down at the tray, Strucker stuck out his shiny boot before he kicked the edge of the tray, causing it to slide in his direction.

Cassius clenched his eyes when he felt the piece of blob splatter and stain at his side.

"Don't want you to starve, now do we?" Strucker tilted his head to the side.

"Yeah, it's not like I am in hell or something," Cassius muttered underneath his breath, taking a bite of the bread as he deemed it his safest option.

Cassius gagged when his already dried mouth chewed on the bland piece of bread that made even cardboard taste appealing. He struggled to force the food down his throat. He watched, from the corner of his eye, as Strucker filled a cup of water from a canteen that the soldier handed to him. His chewing slowed down as he watched Strucker approach him before he squatted down towards Cassius height.

The look on his face unnerved Cassius. Strucker handed the cup of water to him, indicating with this head to take a cup and drink from it. Feeling his throat already closing up and itching from how dry it is, Cassius couldn't help but be tempted in reaching for the cup. He evene dried swallowed subconsciously. However, Cassius knew he should have followed his gut and not accepted the invitation.

Faster than Cassius could process, Strucker tilted the cup to the side before he drained the water out of the cup. Cassius watched with narrowed eyes as a puddle of water formed on the dirty floor. Then, Strucker reached forward and yanked Cassius by the collar around his neck. Cassius was already fatigue and weak, but that didn't mean he didn't try fighting.

It was pointless in the end, as his biting and tugging soon resulted the side of Cassius face smoosh against the the wet, filthy ground. Breathing heavily through his nose, Cassius splutter as a sudden pressure against his temple was resulting a sudden headache to form.

"You earn, in what you deserve in here," Strucker snarled in his ear.

Cassius continued to struggle, causing his face to scrape against the floor and no doubt, leaving a scrape mark on his face. Cassius could feel his face burning red. From anger or embarrassment, he didn't know. After a couple more seconds of struggling, Strucker finally let him go, standing tall and turning his back to him. Strucker rubbed his face as Cassius quickly composed himself, pressing his back against the one once again. Watching Strucker pace in front of him, Cassius wiped his face with the back of his face once again.

In a sudden turn of events, Strucker turned around and delivered a harsh kick towards Cassius rib. Cassius, who was not prepared for the sudden attack, yelped out in pain before curling into a fetal position. However, the sudden motion created even more pain as the skin on his shoulder stretched and strained, making the bullet wound on his shoulder throb with heat.

"What a disgrace," Strucker spat down at Cassius who grunted in pain. "How can great power behold in such a weak, pathetic body?!"

Cassius stare up at him, the tendons around his neck straining out painfully as he tried to bite down the scream from his mouth, his face turning slightly red.

"Is that's what this is all about?" Cassius grunted, slowly placing his weight on his elbows, feeling his knees scraping through his poorly, thin pants. "You're jealous, because-because I have powers? Well, you can bloody have them! I never wanted it!"

Just as Cassius was about to push himself up in a sitting position, Strucker took one, giant step towards him before he reared his arm back. Cassius face turned to the side as a loud _SLAP_ echo in the cell room. The force and also the unexpected hit, caused for Cassius to slip once again, making him land onto his side. Cassius mouth opened in a wide, silent scream when he felt the wounds on his shoulder stretch and possibly even open even more. He can practically feel his own skin, slowly tearing.

"Ungrateful child," Strucker literally spat at me, his mouth foaming with his own saliva. "Don't worry, we will obtain your gift, willingly or unwillingly."

Despite feeling degraded in the disgusting, spit settling against Cassius own body or even how his bones felt like they were lead, weighing his own body down, that didn't stop the glare that rested on his face. Strucker was nothing but a bully. And if there was one thing that Cassius can survive, is being bullied, by a bully.

Cassius entier form shook, either from pure and utter exhaustion, or from anger, he didn't care. He never hated someone so much in his life until now. With that said, Cassius gave Strucker his best glare, his face complete void of any emotion except for rage. Inhaling deeply through his nose, Cassius mucked up as much blood and saliva in his own mouth before he too, spatted towards Strucker's boot.

Strucker froze, staring intently in the direction Cassius spat on his shoe. Without having to bark any orders or provide an physical indications, the guards that were flanking behind him, were already on the move. A glare still plaster on his face, Cassius buried the wince that wanted to appear on his face as the guards roughly hauled him up on his feet. Practically hauling dead weight, Cassius struggled to stand on his own two feet. He could feel the guards fingers digging through his biceps, no doubt delivering him another set of bruises to his new collection.

Strucker, after collecting himself from Cassius actions, wiped his boot against Cassius lump mattress on the floor. Dusting and smoothing his outfit, Strucker walked towards Cassius. Cassius nostrils flared as Strucker grabbed him by the face, his thumb and index finger pressing tightly against each of his cheeks. His grip was so tight, that Cassius could feel the inside of his cheek brushing against his set of teeth.

Cassius stared Strucker straight into his eyes, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of anything. Strucker must have saw something in Cassius because the smirk left nothing but confusion in him. Strucker jerked his hand to the side, twisting Cassius face roughly as Strucker walked towards the cell door. Hands firmly placed behind his back, Strucker glanced over his shoulder, his monocle glistening against the little light that was provided in the room.

"Take him back to the lab," Strucker order the guards. "We are not done gathering information over his abilities."

Scowling, Cassius could not do anything but stare in pure hatred in Strucker's direction as the guards dragged him out of his own cell and no doubt, to be dissected as some sort of lab experiment.

 **Translation** :

Приветствую Гидру = Greetings to Hydra


	4. Chapter 3

**WARNING: !THIS CHAPTER INCLUDES BLOOD AND TORTURE, WITH SOME (SLIGHT) GRUESOME SCENES!**

 **Third POV**

In the corner, of what Cassius is going to assume is going to be his new ' _room_ ' for whoever the hell knows, was himself. His back leaned against the wall, his legs pulled pulled up to his chest as he plopped his arms on top of his knees. He was once again dressed back into his itchy sweatpants and a new tank top, dirtier and uncomfortable as the last one. For days, he has been nothing but a lab rat to these people.

Cassius licked his dry and chapped lips, his own tongue feeling like sandpaper as he swallowed the last bit of saliva he had in his mouth. The shock collar around his neck was uncomfortable and he found it hard to breathe with it around his airway. There was already a bright red mark around his neck, already darkening and bruising. The more he wears it, the more he knew there was gonna be a scar. However, he rather take the uncomfortableness than being electrocuted with a thousand volts of electricity any day. Cassius shivered, the memory of feeling his nervous system being fried still fresh in his mind.

His filthy toes curled, feeling the dust move around in between them. His skin was already starting to pale, the result of the scientists drawing too much blood that he was still woozy from the procedure. Face sunken in a bit, the bags underneath his eyes were eve more prominent, making it look more like black eyes than the effect of the lack of sleep he was getting. Hair tousled as he kept running and tugging his hair multiple times when he was thinking or panicking.

The bandage that use to be bright white, stained with red around the bullet around his shoulder, was now a beige color, praying that its not infected. Hazel eyes that were placed in a glare, wonder to the top corner of his cell, watching one of the cameras pointed right in his direction, a little red dotted light indicated that it was on. Cassius fingers twitched and he resisted the urge to glance at his so call bed. Instead, he settled to look down at his hands.

Twiddling with them, Cassius clenched his hands into fists. Then, very slowly, he unclenched them, his eyes reflecting against the light of the fire that he could magically conjure up with the palm of his hands. The tiny fires, each engulfed his hand like a second layer of skin. No heat, no pain was inflicted on him. Just warmth, power, anger, rage, and oddly comfort. Twisting his wrists here and there, observing the way the fire dance across his hand and lighting up the dark room. This was main reason he was captured in the first place. His so called power was more a burden than a gift, wishing nothing more than to just be normal.

Snapping himself out of his thoughts, he quickly quenched the fire in his hand by clenching his fist, steam rolling out between his fingers as his cell door was opened. Glancing up, a scowl formed around his face as none other than Baron Strucker strolled up to him, two guards following him like dogs trailing behind him. Once again, Cassius resisted the urge to flip him off or curse at him until his face turned red. However, the collar grew heavier around his neck, a reminder on what would happen if he pulled a stunt like that.

" , your results just came back in. Would you like to hear them?" Cassius could hear the rhetorical question behind his words, settling to stay quiet.

With the snap of his fingers, Strucker had his hand out. Obediently, one of the guards shoulder the rifle strap over his shoulder before reach behind him and pulling out a rectangular object. From the reflection of the light was provided by little sunlight streaming through the locked up small window, Cassius quickly assumed it was some electronic device. A laptop? Tablet seemed more reasonable as Cassius watched Baron start frantically typing and sliding across the screen.

"Cassius Oliver Keen," Cassius bristled when he heard his middle name, his body tensing as he did not want to hear this. "Son to Melissa Susan Keen and Andrew David Keen."

Cassius heart squeezed, eyes widening in horror when he heard his parents full names. _How do they know that?_

"Core temperature, one-hundred and eleven degrees. Blood pressure, higher than normal but nothing to worry about. Five-feet and ten inches, weighing one-hundred and seventy-five pounds. Disappointment on muscle mass, something that we have to fix. Age, fifteen years old. Born on-,"

"Stop!" Cassius snapped, his eyes settled on the ground before glancing back up at Baron's face, wide-eyed. "Just stop. H-How did you get all that information on me?"

Cassius body tensed, preparing for the electrocution but when a couple seconds of silence washed over, he sighed in relief when Strucker didn't make a move to reach for the remote controlling the collar around his neck.

"I have told you, . You have peaked our interest and to be able to see of you were someone to approach for our organization, we did a little research on you. Now, don't interrupt me like that again or you will force my hands to punish you."

Cassius leaned his head back, glaring up at the ceiling, feeling nauseous as Strucker continued to expose all his information to him.

"Now, abilities, my favorite part. Pyrokinesis, the ability to create a flicker of flame with the snap of his fingers. Immunity to fire and heat, the reason why your core temperature is unnaturally high and the cold temperature does not affect you. Also, above average durability."

Cassius face pinched at the last one.

"My men, stumbled upon this when the shock treatments," Cassius rolled his eyes. "-should have stopped your heart and killed a normal person in an instant. But then again, you are not normal, are you ?"

Cassius didn't say anything, the smile being tossed in his direction by Strucker unnerved him.

"If you are going to kill me, just get it over with it already," Cassius drawled out.

Soon, he regretted the words leaving his mouth as his body convulsed at the volts of electricity hitting him, his head thrashing wildly side to side as he clawed at the collar around his neck. The cackle of energy lit up the room as Cassius mouth was opened for a scream, only managing to give out choked sounds. Dropping to his side, Cassius heaved in oxygen back into his lungs once the assault was over with.

"Consequences , consequences," Baron scolded him. "Just cooperate with us and you would not be harmed."

"Yes, cause being prison in hell will make me cooperate," Cassius snapped.

Cassius body twisted, flopping onto his back as he was once again electrocuted. His arms flailed around, his muscles spasming together painfully as he withered in pain. He went still when it was over, his vision getting blurry.

"Oh, you have not seen hell yet," Baron squatted down next to him, whispering in his ear. "It does not matter if it takes days, months, or even years. We will break down your spirit, shatter your soul until we shape you into the soldier that you are meant to be. Death would be seen merciful on what we are going to do with you."

"Un-until th-then," Cassius stuttered out, his body still twitching. "I'll b-be figh-fighting ba-back wi-with every-everything I've bl-bloody go-got."

Baron Strucker just smiled cruelly down at him as Cassius chest heaved up and down.

"We'll see about that," with a simple nod of the head, Baron easily commanded the guards to grab Cassius and drag him out of the cell.

Barely managing to stand up on his own feet, Cassius inhaled deeply through his nose and pushed past the wave of pain hitting his entire body. Weakly pushing the guards away from him, he just shot them a glare as one of them struck him across his uninjured shoulder. Huffing, he just scowled in response, not wanting to give them the satisfaction that that actually hurt. Leaning against the wall for a bit, Cassius had no choice but to follow the guards.

Once Cassius was a good distance away, Strucker once again glanced down at the tablet in the palm of his hands. His face was scrunched up in interest and curiosity as he continued to read over Cassius information. There was one thing that peaked his interest the most though. It was not the fact that this boy could conjure up a flame with the snap of his fingers or that Cassius is mysteriously lactose intolerance. No, the information that he wanted the most was in fact, not present to be answered. But this does not made Strucker give up. In fact, it made him even more determined to figure out where Cassius true power came from.

With the swipe of his finger, the screen shut off, removing the bolded words that stated **DNA: NO MATCH**

Cassius found himself once again back in the room where they forced himself to lay down at the table and forcibly took his blood from him. Cassius sneered down when he spotted the group of scientists gawking around him, making him want nothing more than to slam their heads against their stupid clipboards.

"Yes, well, let's begin," Baron glanced over one of the scientists shoulder at the papers in his hands before moving towards a set of computers.

Cassius face scrunched up in confusion as a group of guards surrounded him, making hims tense to spring into action. Hands grabbed his body and the next thing he knew, he was being placed in top of this machine, that looked liked an advanced treadmill. There was wires hanging to the side, the ends with white, sticky patches with a huge screen in front of it.

Cassius hated feeling useless when they forced the sticky pads on his body and watching as the screen in front of him turned on. He tilted his head to the side when he took notice of the bright, numbers burning his eyes. They went from signaling nothing, towards a bunch of numbers in front of him, some shifting back and forth. He opened his mouth to ask what they meant before one of the scientists strapped a mouth mask around his jaw, enabling his ability to speak.

His hands raised up to rip the object away from him mouth but one of the guards took it as his duty to slam the butt of his gun straight to the back of his head. Head pounding, Cassius stumbled forward and he almost slammed his face against the big screen if he hadn't braced himself with his forearms. The screen flashed red, illuminating his face as the numbers began to rise.

He didn't bother to fight back when one of the scientists strapped a black, pressure cuff around his bicep, taking note of the screen. Glancing down at his chest, he had to assume it was taking his vitals. A number that flashed from 100 was slowing decreasing until it finally settled down to around the 70's. His heart rate, he had to guess but the other numbers, he couldn't figure out what they meant.

"Heart rate, 71, normal," one the scientists stuttered out, pushing his gigantic glasses by the bridge of his nose while also typing it down on the tablet on the palm of his hand.

"Extraordinary," another scientists breathed out, a finger hovering against the number 121 at the corner of the screen. "His body temperature should be burning his organs from the inside out but his results suggests that this is the subjects regular temperature. Subject should be dying and yet … "

His breathing grew heavier when they called him a "subject" as if he wasn't a person.

"Blood pressure, 89 systolic and 57 diastolic," the first scientist hummed as he tapped on the cuff around Cassius bicep before he proceeded to pinch and pull on his skin.

Cassius gave out a small yelp at the unexpected gesture before he slapped his hand away from him.

"Subject skin shows sign of dehydration when decreased turgor remains elevated after being pulled and released," the scientist gave Cassius a glare as he rubbed his hand. "Also, subject shows signs of aggression when being provoked or harassed."

 _Oh, he hasn't seen aggression yet_ , Cassius growled in his head as his fingers twitched, wanting to just let a spark.

"Stop stating data that we already know and let's start by running new tests, you bumbling idiots," for once, Cassius was glad for Strucker's authority as the three scientists that surrounded him quickly bowed their heads in fear before stepping away from him.

And true to Strucker's words, they began to run new tests on Cassius. The advance treadmill or as Cassius likes to call it, 'The Olympic Runner from Hell', was no ordinary treadmill. Cassius was proud of his body when he finally hit his growth spurt. He went from the lanky kid, with twig like arms to a teenager who could actually reach the top shelf and enough muscles to help him carry weight that won't result in his arms shaking in strain.

Yet, here he was, his long legs burning and the sensation of coughing up a lung was present as he ran for what felt like hours. His dark curls was drenched in sweat, clinging to his forehead. His 'clothes' were no better, turning a darker color from the amount of sweat he was producing as they clung to his slightly skinny frame. His breathing came out in deadly pants, feeling like he was breathing through a straw as he struggled to get a good amount of air back into his body.

The sound of his aching feet pounding against the treadmill echo through his ears, the only sound he can hear past his erratic heartbeat. He started off good until they increased the speed and from the lack of food and water he had, he knew at the this rate, his body was bound to shut down in exhaustion.

"Heart rate above a 102, blood pressure slowly dropping," Cassius could barely hear the voices around him as he tugged breathlessly at the collar around his neck before swiping the sweat from his eyelashes.

"Core temperature … rising … reaching 134.6 degrees fahrenheit ... ,"

 _No kidding_ , Cassius muttered in his head, feeling his cheeks flushed from running for who knows how long. The air around him felt heavier, thicker, making it much harder to breath. Sweat dripped down from his nose. _Just keep running, just keep running_.

"How fast is he going?" Cassius heard Baron speak as he circled around him, watching him with calculated eyes as he took in his tired state.

To say he was disappointed would be an understatement as it was written all over his face.

"10 miles per hour, sir," the scientists stated.

"Too slow," Baron face pinched in dissatisfaction. "Much work needs to be done …"

Huffing through his nose, Cassius pushed himself to run faster, his eyes narrowed as the sound of his heart drummed louder through his eardrums. His feet pounded vigorously on the treadmill as his arms pumped faster by his side. _Too slow, too slow? I'll show him too slow_ , Cassius thought to himself, not thinking clearly as the edge of his vision started to turn red in anger and irritation.

He didn't realized the alarm looks the scientists were giving each other as Cassius body temperature began to increase drastically, following by his heart rate. He ignored the way Baron glanced at him in wonder, angry at himself for being here and being tested like some sort of animal. _Just keep running, just keep running_.

"Too hot … heart rate increasing … stop him …", "Cassius … stop running!"

But he just ignored him, just like he was ignoring the way he could feel his body vibrating with this new burst of energy mixed with his rage. Or the way he could feel his cells combusting, sparks of embers appearing around his legs as he kept running. Soon, a burst of flame appeared, licking the skin around his legs and spreading to his body. Soon, Cassius body erupted.

The sudden heat had knocked everybody off their feet and straight to their backs. Like a personal sun, Cassius lit up the entire room, his entire body, every limb and every follicle of hair on has body, was nothing but fire. Panting heavily, Cassius wiped the melted mouth mask around his jaw, turning into nothing but a puddle of plastic glob.

Without a second of hesitation, Cassius flaming body jumped out of the treadmill from hell. His legs felt jelly, his muscles around his calves clashing together violently as they finally rest from the rigorous workout. He didn't care if he managed to burn his clothes off and he was right now standing naked in front of his kidnappers. The fire engulfing his body disorientating anything from the visible eye to witness anything anyway.

He was more concerned in the fact that the collar around his neck was still intact. Fingers curled around it and Cassius gave out a scream in frustration as he tried to tug it off. Muscle tensing, the flames rose higher, wanting nothing more to melt the stupid thing from his neck. With no luck, he decided he had to act quick and made a run for it for the door.

Barely taking a step, his body froze as buzzing sound overdriven his senses. Muscles twitching, brain going blank, he lost all concentration and without realizing it, the fire quickly diminished until it disappeared. His body dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as he twitched bare naked on the cobble stone floor.

"Marvelous," Baron breathed out as he slowly got back to his feet, his thumb pressed firmly against the remote, never taking his eyes away from him. "Grateful we made the collar out of vibranium instead of iron. If not, we will be in loads of trouble."

Finally releasing the button, Cassius opened his mouth and inhaled as much air as he could, coughing and spluttering like a fish out of water.

"It seems we will need to construct a device to subdue your powers in order for you to not pull a stunt like that ever again," Baron Strucker mused softly, straightening out his clothes as he stood in front of Cassius. "Until then, I warned you that your actions obtained consequences when you do not cooperate."

Blinking past his blurry vision, Cassius managed to hear two snaps from his fingers and soon he felt a pair of hands gripping both of his arms. Being dead weight, they carelessly dragged his naked body towards Baron, his head bowed down as it felt too heavy for him to hold.

"You must know, I hate to do this but you have forced my hands," Baron whispered the last words. "Welcome to hell."

Cassius never imagined that he would find himself back to where it all started. The moment where his life ended, where he was destined to live in a life with nothing but anger and hurt. Where he knew nothing in life but just fire and the chaos that it brought along with it.

Somewhere in the lowest level of wherever the hell he was in, Cassius found himself once again being tied up to a pole, this one being a wooden pole, while also being bare naked.

He felt like he was back to that scared, eight year old kid again, not knowing how to stand up to his own bullies or to fight back. When they dragged his weak body to the wooden pole, his surroundings dissolved as he reeled back to the moment when Jason Martin tormented him for just existing. The guards changed into little eight-year old kids with sickening smirks. The cobble-stone floor changed into grass and in the distance he could see the back of the school that he went.

Cassius could smell the rain in the air as the clouds darken, the tape coating his body pulled on his skin, irritating to the point that the area surrounding it turned an ugly red. It was like he was taken back in time, staring into those baby blue eyes that can swoon anybody in a heartbeat but can turn into a dark color, showing his true colors like the sea being involved in a chaotic storm. His charming looks that could get him out of any sticky situation was more menacing than the devil himself.

 _"Why are you doing this?!" Cassius yelled at him, hoping to stop him._

 _"Because your a freak," Jason snarled. "And freaks don't belong with us."_

There was a whipping sound, a noise that sounded like leather snapping on leather against each other and next thing he knew, Cassius pulled his body closer to the wooden pole that he was chained too. The pain hit him like a freight train. If he thought that being drenched in sanitizer burned, then Cassius must be burning in hell at the moment. It started as a stinging sensation that felt like hundreds of wasps stung him at the same time before the feeling of what he could only describe as if lava was being glided down his bare back.

Panting through gritted teeth, his sweaty hair moved to the side as he glanced over his shoulder. Being brought back to reality, everything returned back to normal, now staring at the three guards who was staring right back at him. Two of them were each by his side, holding a weapon in their hands if anything happens. The third one was standing right behind him, Cassius eyes quickly darting to the object in his hand.

It was long and thin. The handle was thicker, being a foot long for his estimate. Going further down, Cassius spotted it separating into three different sections, becoming thinner than the handle but much longer though. There was tiny knots in each section, the tips of them finally ending with tiny but sharp, spikes. He felt the bile rising through his throat once Cassius recognized it as a whip.

"круг!"

Cassius placed his forehead against the wooden pole, ignoring the marks that looked like human scratches and the crimson color staining the wood. His body shook but he forced himself to not give them the satisfaction that all he wanted to do was cry out in pain.

"Избавление!"

 _Snap!_ His body flinch without his control, his eyes squeezing tightly as he just wanted everything to end. He wanted it to stop.

"Восемь!"

 _Snap!_ His back was on fire as he clenched his jaw to stop it from quivering, his eyes burning with tears that he refuse to shed.

"Наводнение!"

 _Snap!_ He could feel the skin on his back breaking, his muscles and tissue being exposed to the open air. He shudder when he could feel the air seeping through the wounds, like some sort of parasite.

"Учтивый!"

 _Snap!_ By this point, he ignored the way he could feel his very own blood was sliding down his very own back, down to his legs before soon, he was kneeling on his very own puddle of blood. The sight was making feel dizzy.

"пятьдесят пять!"

 _Snap!_ He couldn't breathe, it just hurt so much. A whimper was lodged in his throat as he swallowed it down, needing to leave this place was some sort of dignity. It was the only thing he had at the moment.

"Убежище!"

 _Snap!_ He did not understand what the words were being shouted at him, his brain to focus in not passing out in pain.

"Красавица!"

 _Snap!_ Cassius tilted his head to the side and without thinking, he bit down on his shoulder, a muffled scream emitting from his mouth. His body was quivering as if he was suffering through hypothermia.

"Два!"

 _Snap!_ The taste of iron filled his mouth as he broke through the skin of his shoulder, another wave of quaking pain hitting him once again. This one being more painful as they struck on one spot that has already been struck, feeling like someone poured salt down his wound.

"Династия!"

 _Snap!_ The chains around his wrist rattled as he hands shook, his fingernails embedding deeply onto the wooden pole, needing something to anchor him down or he would have slumped forward and possibly pass out.

Cassius braced himself for another whip, removing his bloody lips from his shoulder to gritting his teeth, his body shaking without his control. Never in his life, has his body been inflicted with so much pain, that his body did not know how to cope with it.

When nothing happened to him but just the air creeping through his open wounds, Cassius gave out a shaky breath, a sob almost escaping his lips before he stopped himself. His mouth opened into a silent scream as he tried to relax but it just resulted in his muscles stretching the wound on his back even more.

A whimper escaping, he closed his eyes as he forced himself to relax. He didn't even want to glance at the damage his back has been inflicted with. Something flicker in Cassius eyes as hazy eyes glanced down at himself, on his knees with his blood on the dirty cobblestone. His blood that should be inside of him. It finally dawned on him that this was going to be his life for who knows how long. He's going to be a lab rat for these people. He's a prisoner here.

He didn't even realize he flinched a bit when he heard footsteps heading his way before someone was standing over him. He slowly lifted his head, his eyes settling into a pure-hatred glare as he stared at the man who was responsible for all of this.

"There it is," Baron Von Strucker chuckled softly. "That fear in your eyes when you see me."

"I'm not scared of you," Cassius was hoarse and it started to become painful to talk.

"If only you could see yourself," Baron stared down at him. "This is hell."

Cassius could not get his hands to stop shaking as he tried to put his shirt back on. After running more tests such as how much pain can he take in, how much fire he can produce, how hot he can get them, and how strong he was, they finally let him rest after he passed out in complete exhaustion.

When he finally woke up, he forgot where he was as he let out a painful scream that just made him want to curl into a ball and block out everything around him. He was lying down on the mattress, lying on his stomach. Still naked, his body shook as his muscles strained out painfully when he slowly tried to push himself up by his arms.

It took him a while to finally managing to get up, his head swimming with dizziness as he panted heavily. Being on all fours, his eyes glanced around the room before quickly spotted a spare of clothes at the edge of the bed. Biting his lip, he winced every time he moved, trying so hard to ignore the pain as he shakily got back onto his feet and stumbled to grab the clothes.

His movements was slow as he slipped his legs through the sweatpants, dreading to put on the tank top. However, they didn't bother to bandage his back and he didn't want to look at it at all. Hands trembling, Cassius fisted the shirt a bit, glancing up a bit before he held his breath. Grunts escaped through his clenched teeth as he very, very slowly pushed his arms through the holes,

Managing to get both his arms a bit, he took a small break, holding his breath a bit before he lowered his head a bit. A wounded noise vibrated against his chest as he went at a snail-pace to push his head through the hole before slowly lowering the itchy fabric down his torso. The shirt scratched against the now scabbed wounds, making him uncomfortable at the sensation.

One arm across his chest, the hand placed on top of the bullet wound, now just a throbbing sensation, Cassius stumbled back to the mattress. Dragging his feet, he forced himself to sit down, knowing he need to take advantage of the time that he was resting before they come back for more tests. Back facing the camera, Cassius tried to move little as possible, his free hand resting on the edge of the mattress. When his fingers ghosted over a gloss, piece of paper, a sense of relief washed over him. He resisted the urge of taking it out, instead just settling in the knowing fact that Hydra didn't manage to steal everything they took him in.

His ears perked when he heard footsteps, his hand quickly wrenching back and settling on his lap. He could feel the collar around his neck growing heavier, tighter as he heard someone opening his cell door. Too weak to fight back, Cassius let them grab him, dragging him back to his feet before taking him out of his cell.

His face pinched when one of the guards grazed against his back, resisting the urge to make any noise at all on how much that really hurt. Left, right, left, right, Cassius forced himself to think about his feet because if he wasn't thinking about anything else, the fire on his back would become even more painful.

Stepping through a door, Cassius gasped when a bright, burning white light blinded him. Feeling a sudden breeze and inhaling fresh oxygen, Cassius looked around as if he was a blind mind being able to see for the first time. He was actually outside, the sun glaring down on his skin was roof enough that he was not dreaming or hallucinating.

A blow to the back had him cringe, his eyes stinging from the pain as he stumbled forward. His feet scraped against the rocky surface, taking it all in as he trudged forward, following behind the guards. White, beautiful snow covered the ground, trees as tall as skyscrapers scattered around them. He could see the mountains from here. It was like freedom was mocking him to make a run for it, looking around at all the open space.

Finally being able to know where he was in, Cassius sunken eyes took in the building he was being held captive. It was big, made out of completely out of stone. Too him, it looked like a castle. Bridges were constructed to easily make way from one side of the building to the other. Brick towers were built in each side of the building, looking more like a look-out post with guards invading inside. He could see each one of them holding a weapon as they look either at the land outside or at him in winder. He could tell this place was big, cobblestone floors stretching from miles from what he can tell.

This meant it was going to be more difficult for Cassius to memorize the landscape of the building if he wanted to figure a way out. He cannot be stuck here anymore because he knew if he did, he will give up and submit to Baron Von Strucker.

Walking for a couple more minutes, soldiers marching right past them, Cassius soon stopped in front of a courtyard, or what he assumed was a courtyard. All he saw was just a plain, grey stone-floor with nothing surrounding it. There was a red, painted circle in the center. And standing right in the center was Strucker and another man next to him.

As he was getting closer, Cassius couldn't help but gape when the sun reflected something shining against the other man's arm. It soon dawned on him that the metal shining against the sun was in fact, the strangers man. Spotting the red star plaster on the shoulder did Cassius confirm that this was the same man who kidnapped him in the first place, dragging him here after he knocked him out.

"You …" Cassius throat itchy, mouth dry as he stared at the two men in front of him.

"Glad to see you are awake," Strucker spoke up. "Been asleep for almost two days now."

Cassius didn't say anything, eyes settled at the metal armed man who just blankly stared at Cassius. His eyes raised the hairs on the back of his neck. They were empty, void of any emotion. It was almost robotic, blue eyes dull as if there is no one inside of him. Instead of being angry at the man, Cassius could not help but be curious on what happened to this man.

"Ah, I see you recognize him. I introduce you, the Winter Soldier," Baron raised a hand up before resting them back again at his back.

 _What's wrong with him?_ Cassius wanted to ask as they continued to stare at each other.

"He would be training you until he seemed fit you are ready to take on the field."

This snapped Cassius from his staring contest as his dark eyes glanced at Strucker.

"Training?" Cassius licked his dry lips. "Take on the field?"

"I did say we are going to make a soldier out of you. We were not going to run tests on you for eternity."

 _Of course, silly me_ Cassius thought to himself as he coughed a bit to clear his throat. This just resulted his throat to become even more irritated.

"Let's not waste time," Baron then said something to The Winter Soldier in a language Cassius could not understand.

He watched as the metal arm man turned around and swiftly walked to the edge of the red circle. Even his walking looked deadly. Cassius turned his head side to side as the guards left his side, watching as Strucker and them stood to the side, leaving him in the center of the red ring.

His heart raced, the palms of his hands getting sweating as adrenaline coursed through his veins. Cassius was not a fighter. He is the kid that avoided the fight at all costs. Yet here he was, standing in front of someone who look like that they can kill him with just the twitch of his pinky.

"Begin!"

Cassius blinked and next thing he knew, the Winter Soldier manage to cross all the way until he was in front of him. Next thing he knew, a metal fist was heading straight for his face. His brain too slow to register to dive out of the way, his head snapped to the side, blood pooling inside of his mouth as the world titled to the side. In less than a second, Cassius was already on the ground.

 **Translation:**

Круг = circle

Избавление = deliverance

Восемь = eight

Наводнение = flood

Учтивый = courteous

пятьдесят пять = fifty-five

Убежище = asylum

Красавица = beauty

Два = two

Династия = dynasty


End file.
